Italian Simple Present Tense

Present Tense The present tense in Italian is essentially the same as in English. The only difference is that it can also be used as the present continuous, so “I do” and “I am doing” are conjugated the same way. The English present continuous, however, is expressed in a better way by a more complex construction with the verb “stare” and the “gerundio” form (the English -ing form). Also note that the subject pronoun can be dropped from a conjugated verb because the ending of the conjugated verb communicates the subject of the action. Present Tense Conjugations 1, 2, & 3 To conjugate regular verbs follow this method: 1) Drop the ending from the infinitive to give the stem. Exx. lavorare (to work) → lavor- 2) Add the correct ending: Exx. lavorare → lavor- → lavoro

person	-are	-ere	-ire
io	-o	-o	-o
tu	-i	-i	-i
lui/lei	-a	-e	-e
noi	-iamo	-iamo	-iamo
voi	-ate	-ete	-ite
loro	-ano	-ono	-ono

So, for example, parlare (to speak) would be conjugated as follows:

(Io) parlo (“I speak / am speaking”)

(Tu) parli (“You speak / you are speaking”)

(Egli/ella/Lei/Lui) parla

(Noi) parliamo

(Voi) parlate

(Essi/Loro) parlano

Note: Egli, ella, and essi are older versions of lui, lei, and loro, respectively, but are still used occasionally today.

3rd Conjugation Verbs taking “-isc-”

Many 3rd Conjugation verbs add the letters -isc- between the stem and the ending for the present tense. This is constructed as follows: finire(to end/finish)

person	ire
io	-isco	io finisco
tu	-isci	tu finisci
lui/lei/Lei	-isce	lui/lei/Lei finisce
noi	-iamo	noi finiamo
voi	-ite	voi finite
loro	-iscono	loro finiscono

Remember that, when followed by i or e, -sc- sounds like the English ‘shake’ (/ʃ/) (; if a, o or u follow, it will be read as “sk” (/sk/). In Italian, the present indicative tense works much like the present tense in English. To conjugate Italian verbs in the present indicative tense, you first need to understand that Italian infinitives (the “to” form, as in to die, to sleep, to dream) end in one of three ways — and that you conjugate the verb based on that ending:

• Verbs that end in -are

• Verbs that end in -ere

• Verbs that end in -ire

The endings of regular verbs don’t change. Master the endings for each mode and tense, and you’re good to go! Keep in mind that verbs agree with subjects and subject pronouns (io, tu, lui/lei/Lei, noi, voi, loro/Loro):

Unfortunately, there are also irregular verbs, which you have to memorize. You’ll find that the more you practice them, the easier it is to use them in conversation:

The Passato Prossimo

The Passato Prossimo is one of the most commonly used past tenses in Italian. It is a compound tense, therefore the auxiliary verbs avere and essere are used in conjugation. Note that the following conjugations are both irregular. Avere- to have

Io ho

Tu hai

Lui/Lei ha

Noi abbiamo

Voi avete

Loro hanno

Essere- to be

Io sono

Tu sei

Lui/Lei è

Noi siamo

Voi siete

Loro sono

Italian verbs with infinitives ending in -ere are called second-conjugation (seconda coniugazione) or -ere verbs. The present tense of a regular -ere verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the appropriate endings (-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono) to the stem. For an example on how to conjugate a regular second-conjugation verb, take a look the following table.

PRESENT TENSE CONJUGATION OF SCRIVERE (TO WRITE)
PERSON	SINGULAR	PLURAL
I	(io) scrivo (I write)	(noi) scriviamo (we write)
II	(tu) scrivi (you write, familiar)	(voi) scrivete (you write, familiar)
III	(Lei) scrive (you write, formal)	(Loro) scrivono (you write, formal)
	(lui/lei) scrive (he/she writes)	(loro) scrivono (they write)

Second-conjugation (-ere) verbs account for approximately one-quarter of all Italian verbs. Although many have some sort of irregular structure, there are also many regular verbs (see the following table for examples) which are conjugated in the same way as scrivere.

COMMON SECOND-CONJUGATION VERBS
accendere	to light, ignite; turn/switch on
battere	to beat, to hit
cadere	to fall
chiedere	to ask
conoscere	to know
correre	to run
credere	to believe
descrivere	to describe
eleggere	to elect
leggere	to read
mettere	to put, to place
mordere	to bite
nascere	to be born
offendere	to offend
perdere	to lose
rimanere	to remain, to stay
ridere	to laugh
rompere	to break
vendere	to sell
sopravvivere	to survive

While the infinitive forms of both first- and third-conjugation Italian verbs always have the accent on the final -are or -ire, second-conjugation verbs are often pronounced with the accent on the third-to-last syllable, as in prendere (PREHN-deh-ray).

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